Experiments of acoustic whimsy

December 22, 2008 - 10:00 PM by

Sakharof and FrescoPossibly the closest thing Israel has to a bona fide guitar rock god, Berry Sakharof is also a man of many collaborations. His chameleon-like changeovers have included forays into alt-industrial Euro new wave, folk-ethnic Eastern spiritual poetry songs and club rhythm-infused pop-metal. It’s all kind, and it’s all worth catching.

A few years ago, Sakharof explored his intimate side with a special mini-tour of acoustic gigs – many cuts from which made up the meat of the bonus acoustic disc from 2003′s In Concert boxed set. On this tour, he was accompanied almost exclusively by Zohar Fresco (check out his official site as well as his Myspace profile for great samples of his work that showcase his amazing talents), an extraordinary hand-percussionist. As Sakharof has been known to do every now and then, he has recently rekindled this collaboration, appearing on stage this past weekend at Jerusalem’s Ma’abada Theater.

The planners at the Ma’abada clearly were once again caught off-guard by the logistics of this event. Although the sound was well-mixed and clear, the venue unfortunately over-sold beyond capacity. Most rock shows held here involve a large open floor for bouncing revelers, but the laid-back nature of the acoustic format justified setting up rows of chairs across the entire floor, and when the crowds piled in close to the gig’s opening number, passageway aisles disappeared as more chairs were thrown down haphazardly, and some people were suddenly told that certain seats needed to remain empty in order to facilitate the movements of the performers.

But once the vibes settled down, the beauty of the music took over. Sakharof’s songs are simply great, and their flavors were accentuated by the bandless format. Less coordinated accompaniment means more room for drama and improvisation, and Sakharof and Fresco were clearly relishing in this dynamic, approaching the sings with whimsy and not hiding their smiles to each other.

Highlights from the set included classic Sakharof love songs like “Chaval She’at Lo” and “Basof Shel Yom,” experimental numbers like “Ra’ash Lavan” and covers of folk song standards.

Berry stuck to his guitar mostly, but he played with chords emanating from a pedal-triggered synthesizer as well, and the show opened with just him at the piano doing crowd favorites “Kama Yossi” and “Haolam Ha’amiti.” For the duration of the concert, the band grew in tiers – first with Fresco joining in, then a pianist/wind player, and finally with surprise guest Daniel Zamir, the Tzadik Records-affiliated post-klez alt-jazz sax player.

Berry needs to come to town more often.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , • Category: Art, General, Israeliness, Music, Pop Culture 

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